Many structures are built using concrete, including, for instance, buildings, parking structures, apartments, condominiums, hotels, mixed-use structures, casinos, hospitals, medical buildings, government buildings, research/academic institutions, industrial buildings, malls, bridges, pavement, tanks, reservoirs, silos, foundations, sports courts, and other structures.
Prestressed concrete is structural concrete in which internal stresses are introduced to reduce potential tensile stresses in the concrete resulting from applied loads; prestressing may be accomplished by post-tensioned prestressing. In post-tensioned prestressing, a tension member is tensioned after the concrete has attained a specified strength by use of a post-tensioning tendon. The post-tensioning tendon may include anchors, the tension member, and sheaths or ducts. A tension member is conventionally constructed of a material having sufficient tensile strength that can also be elongated. Tension members are often formed from a metal or composite material, such as steel. The post-tensioning tendon conventionally includes an anchorage at each end. The tension member is fixedly coupled to a fixed anchorage positioned at one end of the post-tensioning tendon, the so-called “fixed-end”, and stressed at the other anchor, the “stressing-end” of the post-tensioning tendon.
The concrete may be poured into a concrete form. The concrete form may be a form or mold into which concrete is poured or otherwise introduced to give shape to the concrete as it sets or hardens thus forming the concrete member.
Concrete members may be formed in-situ, i.e., as part of the structure to which the concrete members are to become a part, or may be formed ex-situ and transported to the structure and placed therein. When formed ex-situ, the concrete members may be formed as concrete segments at a post tension plant (PT plant). For instance, the post-tensioning tendon may be positioned within the concrete form, the concrete poured, and the concrete member then stressed to form a concrete segment. After the concrete member is stressed, the tension member extends beyond the edge of the concrete segment. Conventionally, at least a portion of the tension member that extends beyond the edge of the concrete member is removed by cutting.
Traditional methods of cutting the tension member at a PT plant include using an abrasive saw or an arm with a sharp edge that cuts the cable. Both the sharp edge and the saw may leave the cut end of the tension member frayed. Use of the abrasive saw also tends to produce dust. Cutting the tension member using traditional methods may take 20-25 seconds or longer.